Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

The Cookers Heat Up

Straight No Chaser is the place for jazz lovers (and those who will soon be jazz lovers) to enjoy podcasts with their favorite music and artists. Winner of the 2017 JazzTimes Readers' Poll for Best Podcast, your host Jeffrey Siegel will take you inside the world of jazz, from the new releases to the best festiva;s to remembrances of jazz legends.

Last year’s Warriors CD announced that The Cookers were
not ready to apply for their old age pensions. A “super group” of
jazz stars who cut their teeth on late Sixties hard bop, their
name comes from a memorable 1965 Blue
Note blowing session by the late, great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard
(The Night of the Cookers: Live at Club La
Marchal).

Their latest release, Cast the
First Stone, follows along in the same groove. Whether it’s the
riveting trumpet of David Weiss that ends the title track, Azar
Lawrence’s stirring guest shot on George Cables’ “Looking for the
Light”, or Billy Harper swinging through his “The Seventh Day”, the
CD is uniformly strong. In fact, it’s a straight-ahead jazz fan’s
dream.

Special note should be taken of the
powerful rhythm section, composed of veterans Cecil McBee on bass,
Billy Hart on drums and George Cables on piano. Cables, who I last
caught playing in the John Coltrane tribute band “We Four” with
Javon Jackson, Jimmy Cobb,
andNat Reeves, continues to
show he has no lingering effects from a near fatal illness three
years ago. He solos on nearly every track here, particularly well
on a rousing “Croquet
Ballet”, composed by Billy Harper. If these guys are cookin',
I'm listening.